Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1887-06-03

| curuain over the entrance 10 my cave wa
flung aside, and another mute, young gir
this time, announced TO me by signs that
| could not Observation-Disclosures is, by opon I'M
her mouth and pointing down it--that Their
was something ready TO cat Accordingly
followed her into the next chamber, whicl
we had not yet entered where found Job
who had also, to bis great embarrassment
been conducted thither by n fair mute Jol
had never got over the advances the forne
lady had made to him, and suspected eyer,
girl who came near to him Of similar designs
"These young parties have n way of looking
nj one, sir" no would say, alphabetically
switch don't call respectable
This fresh room was twice tho size Of thu
sleeping caves, and saw at once that IL hat
originally served as q refractory, and alsC
probably rs an embalming room for the
priests of the dead; for may as well say a
once these followed out caves were nothing
more or less than vast catacombs, In which
for tens of ages the mortal remains of til,
| great extinct race whose monuments sur
rounded us had been first preserved, " ithnn ar
and completeness that have never since beer
equnled, and then hidden away for all time
| On each side Of this rock chamber was long
| solid stone table, about three feet wide by
three feet six in height, hewn out Of the liv.
| ing rock, of which it had formed part, and
was still attached to at the base. These tables
were slightly followed out or curved inward
TO give room for the knees of any one sitting
ON the stone ledge that had been cut for a
bench along the side Of the cave at distance
of about two feet from them. Each of them
was so arranged that 1t ended right under a
shaft pierced in the rock for the admission OF
light and air. On examining them care
fully, however, l saw that there was
difference between them that had
at first escaped my attention, viz, that
one of thu tables-that TO the left as We
entered the cave-had evidently been used,
not to cat ON, but for the purpose of cmhalm-
ing bodies That this was beyond all question
tho case was clear from five shallow depres
sions in the stone of the table, all shaped lik'
human form, with q separate place
for the head to lie in, and a little
bridge to support the neck, each depres-
sion being Of different size, so as TO fit
bodies varying in stature from full grown
mans to q small child's, and with little holes
bored at intervals TO carry off fluid. And,
indeed, IL any further confirmation was re-
quired one had but 10 look at the wall of the
cave above to find it. !. For there, sculptured
all around the apartment, and looking nearly
rs fresh as the day 1t was done, was tho
pictorial representation Of the death, cmbalm-
ing and burial of an old man with long
beard, probably an ancient king or grandee
Of this country.
The first picture represented his death. He
was lying upon a couch which had four short
curved posts at the corners, coming to knob
at the end. in appearance something like
written note of music, and was evidently in
the very act of expiring. Gathered round
the couch were women and children weeping,
tho former with their hair hanging down
their Lack Tho next scene represented the
embalming Of the body, which lay nude upon
q table with depressions in it similar TO tho
one before us; probably. indeed 1t was a
picture of the same table. Three men were
employed at tho work-one experimenting,
ono holding funnel shaped exactly like
port wine strainer, of which the narrow end
was fixed in an incision In tho breast, no
doubt in tho great pectoral artery, while The
third, who was represented as standing
Straddle legged over the corpse, held kind
of large jug high In his hand, and poured
from it some steaTuing fluid, which fell
accurately into the funnel.
The third sculpture represented the burial
Of the deceased. There he was stiff and cold,
clothed in linen robe, and laid out on n
stone slab such as had slept upon at our
first sojourning place. At his head and feet
burned q lamp, and by his side wero placed
several of the beautiful painted vases that
have described, which were probably sup
posed 70 be full of provisions, The little
chamber was crowded with mourners, and
with musicians playing on q sort Of Tyre,
while near the foot Of the corpse stood n man
with sheet, with which he was preparing to
cover 1t from view.
These sculptures, looked at merely as works
Of art, were so remarkable that / make no
apology for, describing them rather fully.
They struck me also as being Of surprising
interest as representing, probably with
studious accuracy, tho last rites of the
dead as practiced among an utterly
lost people, and even then l thought
how envious some antiquarian friends Of my
own at Cambridge would be if ever got an
of describing these wonderful re-
mains to them. Probably they would say
that / was exaggerating, notwithstanding
that every page of this history must bear so
much internal evidence of Is truth that /. !
WOulu ODNluuslJ nNN6 Detn QulUo Impossible |
for Inc to have invented it.
To return. AS soon as had hastily exam
lned these sculptures, which think omitted
to mention were executed in relief, we sat
down 10 a very excellent meal Of boiled
goats flesh, fresh milk and cakes made of
meal, the whole being served upon clean
wooden platters.
when we had eaten we returned to SEQ how
poor Leo was getting on, Billali saying that
lie must now wait upon She and her COM
mands. On reaching Leo's room we found
the poor boy in a very bad way He had
woke up from his torpor and was Altogether
off his head, babbling about som boat race
ON the Cam, and was inclined to be violent. |
Indeed, when we entered the rom Ustane
was holding him down. l spoke to him, and |
my voice seemed TO soothe him; at any rate |
he grew much quieter and was persuaded to
swallow dose of quinine.
/ had been sitting with him for an hour,
any rate know that it was get
ting so dark that could only just make out |
his head lying like CLEAN of gold upon the |
pillow we had extemporized out Of bag COW
cred with blanket-when suddenly Billali ar
rived with an air of great importance and in
formed me that She herself had si,igned to |
express a wish to see mean honor, he added, |
accorded to but very few / think that he
was a little Mortified at my cool way of taking
the honor, but the fact was | did not feel |
overwhelmed with gratitude at the prospect
of seeing some savage, dusky queen, how
ever absolute and mysterious she might
be, more especially as my mind was
full of dear Leo, for whose life l began to |
have great fears. However, rose to follow
him, and as did so caught sight OF some
thing bright lying on the floor, which
picked up. Perhaps the reader will remem-
Der that with the potsherd in the caszet was
q composition scarab9us marked with round
., large bird, and another curious hero
glyphic, the meaning Of which signs Is aSuten
&c RAJ or "Royal Son of the SUM- This
scarab, which Is very small one, Leo had in
sisted in having set in massive gold ring,
srch as Is very generally used for signots, and
1t was this very ring that now picked up
He had pulled it of in the paroxysm of his /
fever-at least l suppose so-ond flung It !
down upon the rock floor. Thinking that if I ,
left it about 1t might get lost slipped it on
my own little finger and then followed Bill
lali, leaving job and Ustane with Leo.
We passed down the passage, crossed the
rrraaf niqln lilfa rava mud emma 10 tho ,o.,o